With UFC 120 win, Pyle finally feels at home in UFC, hopes fans will come around

LONDON – While a cursory examination of Mike Pyle’s impressive UFC 120 win over the previously undefeated John Hathaway on Saturday night in London might suggest his impressive head movement and superior grappling were the keys to the biggest victory of his 11 year career, “Quicksand” would beg to differ.

For Pyle (20-7-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC), the long-awaited transition from “best fighter not in the UFC” to “UFC welterweight contender” is due entirely to one thing.

“This is the biggest, best sport that’s going right now, and it doesn’t get any better. You have to do everything you can to prepare yourself physically and mentally. That’s what I did when I got the call. I stepped up and took care of business.”

Pyle has long been considered a gym superstar, and his reputation among his Xtreme Couture teammates has long been top notch. But despite brief runs with Affliction, EliteXC, the IFL, Sengoku and Strikeforce, Pyle never earned the reputation of a fighter that could deliver under pressure.

While Pyle appeared guarded when pressed to reveal exactly what steps he had taken to shore up his mental approach to fighting, he did admit the change was the key to his win over Hathaway, as well as a June victory over Jesse Lennox.

“It’s just a matter of stepping up your game,” Pyle said. “I took the right steps and saw the right people. It’s helped tremendously, and it’s something I’ll never neglect again.

“It just took me a little bit longer to get over the UFC jitters. Like I said, this is the big show. It’s a lot bigger than any other show I’ve ever fought on. I have to train myself for that, and I’m taking all the proper steps.”

A huge underdog in the fight with Hathaway, Pyle never played the part. He was almost strangely confident in the weeks leading up to the contest, and he wasn’t afraid to voice his plans to shock the world.

While many MMA observers had tagged Hathaway as Britain’s next big thing, Pyle said he always knew he could win. It wasn’t so much any flaws that he observed in Hathaway’s game but simply that he began fighting professionally before “The Hitman” was even a freshman.

“I just knew I could beat the kid,” Pyle said. “I’ve been fighting since 1998. I think he was probably doing homework in high school at the time – maybe even middle school.

“I’m seasoned. I train with the best. I feel that it’s out there, and I just knew that I would be able to outwork the kid, 100 percent. In my heart, I knew that I could beat him.”

And beat him, he did. Soundly, in fact, with the unanimous decision only coming because Hathaway somehow lasted through a tight inverted triangle in the second round that was accompanied by a seemingly never-ending barrage of punches to the face.

Whether it was his boxing, his wrestling or simply his mental approach, Pyle’s UFC 120 win was undoubtedly one of the best – and certainly most important – performances of his career.

And while the 35-year-old has long flown low on most MMA fans’ radar, that will likely no longer be the case.

“When [UFC officials] called, and they gave me this opportunity to take and this fight and be on this card, I was very thankful,” Pyle said. “I rose to the occasion; I beat the kid.

“(I was) a severe underdog coming out here. I loved it. I loved the crowd. I loved that they didn’t like me as much, but maybe I captured a few fans afterward.”

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